


Close to Me

by Arsenal



Series: Buddie Fics [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Buck had a shitty childhood, Christopher just wants 2 dads, Eddie just wants to be his boyfriend, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, M/M, Oblivious Buck, Thanksgiving Dinner, buddie, let them be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 09:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21425878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsenal/pseuds/Arsenal
Summary: "This is my boyfriend, Eddie," Buck replied, realizing his mistake the moment the words escaped his big stupid mouth.He had meant to say 'best friend' not boyfriend, he really had. They were similar titles, easy enough to say the wrong one.The blonde heard Eddie slightly choke on the coffee he was sipping and turned to see his wide eyes.------------------That one where Buck accidentally introduces Eddie as his boyfriend and Eddie goes with it.Everyone knows what’s going on except oblivious Buck. Buck's pov
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: Buddie Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544842
Comments: 28
Kudos: 888





	Close to Me

**Author's Note:**

> Buck is truly oblivious in this one but I love these boys. Enjoy :3

  
  


Buck doesn't know how he got into this situation. He also has no idea how to get out of it either. 

It was supposed to be a simple get together with Maddies old friend from college. She hadn't had any friends after she got married to Doug and Buck was glad that someone from before then had reached out to her. He wasn't fully in the loop with what was going on with his sister but he knew she could use a friend right now. Conveniently Christine was going to be in town for a week for Thanksgiving to see her family and had been excited to hear that Maddie had moved out to LA. Maddie had invited her out for breakfast, but didn’t want to go alone so she’d invited her Chimney, Eddie and Buck along.

Her brother had jumped on the chance to spend some time with Eddie. He was still trying to catch up for lost time from when they’d been apart. 

Things had started out great, they had ordered some coffee when they arrived and waited for Maddie’s friend to show up. Maybe he didn’t get enough sleep or maybe it was the way that Christine had started looking at Eddie from the moment she walked in, but Buck didn’t like her. She walked up smiling and hugged Maddie, complimenting her about how good she still looked. Buck rolled his eyes and felt Eddie elbow him.

Then she turned towards them, extending her hand, “You must be Maddie’s brother! I’m Christine.”

"Hi Christine, I'm Evan, but you can call me Buck. This is my boyfriend, Eddie," Buck replied, realizing his mistake the moment the words escaped his big stupid mouth.

He had meant to say 'best friend' not boyfriend, he really had. They were similar titles, easy enough to say the wrong one.

The blonde heard Eddie slightly choke on the coffee he was sipping and turned to see his wide eyes. The shorter man caught himself quickly though and put a tight lipped smile on, shaking Christine’s hand that Buck had left hanging.

Maddie didn’t seem to think twice about what he had said, Buck hoped that maybe she hadn’t heard him. Chimney on the other hand, definitely had. He was sitting next to his sister eating a scone and had stopped to gape at him slightly before shutting his mouth and not correcting his statement. Maddie’s friend was thankfully facing the wrong way and couldn’t see his reaction.

“Nice to meet you guys,” Christine replied, shaking Eddie’s hand. He swore he could see slight disappointment in her blue eyes and felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

When Eddie leaned forward and put his arm around Bucks shoulder he nearly jumped. He quickly glanced at the older man and found a small smirk playing on his lips. Clearly he had decided to go along with whatever this game Buck had started was and he couldn't be more grateful. This was supposed to be about Maddie and he didn't need to mess it up for her.

“Ummm, how about we order some real food,” Chim suggested, holding up his scone, “I’m starving.”

Buck quickly flagged the waitress down, eagerly looking for something to distract him from what he’d said. He tuned out everyone else as they ordered, replaying what had just happened over and over in his head and cringing. He really couldn’t believe he’d done that.

“Evan,” his sister said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

She was looking at him with slight concern and he panicked, not knowing why she’d said his name.

“He’ll take what I’m having too,” Eddie said, smiling at the waitress.

Oh. That was why. Buck relaxed again, leaning back. Straight into Eddie’s arm. _ Fuck _.

As Buck shoveled his face full of whatever Eddie had ordered him, everyone else began making casual conversation that he half heartedly listened to. He was a bit concerned about joining in after what he blurted out earlier. What if he said something stupid again?

His attention however was quickly grabbed when he heard Christine cooing and leaning towards Eddie’s shoulder to look at his phone. Clearly she was invading a stranger's personal space and had no awareness of it so Buck leaned in from the other side to assist his friend, hoping it would make her back off. Why did she choose to sit next to Eddie instead of his sister?

They were looking at pictures of Christopher and him playing in the yard with the leaf piles he had raked up last weekend. He had been so distracted he hadn’t even known that Eddie had been standing on the porch taking pictures of the two of them. A smile pulled at his lips, he had really missed his time with Christopher and was so happy to be back in his life.

“You guys have the most adorable son,” she exclaimed, still far too close to Eddie.

“Yeah, but these two are pretty slow about getting yard work done,” Eddie teased, not bothering to correct her.

The pancake that Buck had been chewing on suddenly made his whole mouth and throat feel very dry, so he pulled away and grabbed his glass of juice. He gulped the cool liquid down and let out a sigh. He still felt weird.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” he said, getting up and hurrying away.

He made it into the restroom and splashed some water onto his face, unsure of why he suddenly felt so anxious. Buck was a social butterfly, there was no reason he should be having such a hard time today. He lifted his head back up when the door opened, and watched Chimney slide through in the mirror.

“So uh, when are you two gonna tell the rest of the station?” he asked, eyes glittering with mischief when Buck turned to face him.

“What?”

“About you and Eddie finally getting together,” Chim laughed, looking at him as if he were dumb.

“But uh, but we aren’t a thing?” Buck chuckled nervously, “I meant to say best friend, I’m just really not getting enough sleep and said the wrong thing you kno-”

“Wait, you’re in denial still aren’t you?” 

“There’s nothing to be in denial about,” he stated, tilting his head in confusion about what Chimney was insinuating. 

His friend seemed to sense his annoyance and put his hands up, backing away.

“Alright, my bad,” he said as he left, tone not very convincing that he meant it.

Buck reluctantly followed him back to their table and sat down again next to Eddie, who glanced over at him with a smile when he saw that he was back. Maddie seemed particularly happier than she had been lately and he felt a sense of relief that he hadn’t ruined the whole get together. After that he pretended what Chim had said didn’t bother him, but he spent the rest of the meal zoned out thinking about it. If anyone noticed they didn’t point it out, which he was thankful for. 

It wasn’t until they were getting up to leave that Buck was forced to pay attention again. After Maddie had hugged him goodbye, Eddie had taken his hand and lead him out the door back to his truck. He was so shocked he almost hadn’t gone with him, but after a gentle tug he did, unable to make himself pull his hand back. Eddie opened the passenger door for him when they reached the vehicle, which honestly was pretty normal for them, but this time it stood out to him for some reason.

When Eddie entered the drivers side, he paused before starting his truck, a small frown on his face.

“Are you okay, Buck?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” he chuckled nervously, “Just didn’t expect you to play along after my mistake.”

Eddie was quiet for a moment but then smiled, “Right, your mistake. Couldn’t leave you hanging.”

\-------------------

After that Buck thought things would go back to normal and the whole little fluke would be forgotten. He was quickly proven wrong when his friend continued to randomly put his arm around them when they were standing close, he'd run ahead to grab the door for him everywhere or calling him names he didn’t understand in Spanish.

Buck couldn't tell if it was just Eddie being nice or if he was messing with him. Buck had never had a best friend before, maybe this was what it was like. Maybe it was just stuff Eddie had always done and he’d just become hyper aware of it after his little incident. Either way, he said nothing about it and continued trying to act normal. 

Then Thanksgiving happened.

Buck had never been super big on the holiday because of growing up in such an unhappy household, but this year he was excited to share it with his new found family. It wouldn’t be something to dread and think of as a bad thing. Athena and Bobby had invited the 118 to join them at their home and he’d spent his entire day looking forwards to the great food he was going to get. 

The morning shift he’d had was particularly hellish, a lot of holiday related house calls were sent to their station. One woman had already had a turkey bone stuck in her throat and a man had managed to cut most of his hand off cooking. A few family fights had broken out too, resulting in a variety of serious injuries and arrests. None of the calls were making him think any more highly about Thanksgiving, but if nothing else it gave him plenty of stories to share at dinner. Eddie had been home with Christopher today and he’d missed his company.

The traffic on the way to the Diaz house after his shift finally ended was gruesome and he became frustrated as it was apparent he’d be late to pick his two favorite boys up. He’d been smart enough to leave a change of nice clothes there so he could get ready there instead of driving to his apartment too, but at the rate cars were moving he’d have to change in his jeep while Eddie drove them there. The permanent traffic was the one thing he’d never get used to after moving to LA.

When he finally pulled into the driveway and banged on the door, Eddie opened it with a knowing smile and handed him his dress clothes. Buck did a double take, not used to seeing his friend dressed so nicely. He looked _ good _. The burgundy button down he was in was the perfect color on Eddie, and it was clinging perfectly to the taut muscles undernea-

“I’ll get Chris into the car, go get changed,” he said, interrupting Bucks thoughts.

“Oh yeah, right. Sorry I’m late,” Buck replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

After a rushed change of clothes, Buck checked himself in the mirror twice, smoothing his hair down a bit and checking everything was in place. He started to leave the bathroom before the bottle of cologne on the corner of the counter caught his attention and he paused. He’d gotten to shower after his shift and he was sure he smelled fine, but decided to play to and spritz a small amount onto himself. When he hurried out to his jeep, Eddie was sitting in the driver's seat smiling and shaking his head at him.

“Took you long enough,” he commented as Buck buckled himself in.

“Yeah, yeah, just drive, jerk,” he huffed back.

A few minutes later they were knocking on Athena’s door, laughter and a warm glow coming from inside the house. The sargent opened it and made a small tut sound at them.

“Sorry we’re late, my fault,” Buck explained.

“Bobby said you would be,” she said with a small chuckle, “Well don’t just stand there boys, come in.”

They followed her inside, a few cheers erupting from the table where everyone else was sitting. He couldn’t help the grin that forced itself onto his face, happy to feel so welcome with everyone again. He’d missed that after what happened with the lawsuit. Three seats were still open for them at the table to the left of Bobby and they quickly settled in. Hen snorted from across the table when he began removing his jacket to put on the back of his chair.

“What?” he asked her confused.

“Did you two plan on matching or was that an accident?” she asked him, elbowing Chimney next to her.

Buck felt his face turning red against his will, as he looked down at the burgundy shirt he was wearing. He hadn’t realized they did, even after checking himself in the mirror before they left.

“Of course it was an accident,” he said looking at his best friend for back up.

Eddie was helpfully looking very intently at Athena’s table cloth however, and didn’t make a comment. Buck sighed, knowing he was going to be in for an entire night of teasing now. For whatever reason to his surprised though neither Hen nor Chimney mentioned it again. They settled into other conversation, mostly work related. Maybe it was the holiday spirit controlling them.

“Are we ready to eat everyone?” Bobby asked, finishing placing a few more dishes of food onto the table.

Unanimous sounds of agreement rang out. They were all hungry and the food smelled _ good _.

“Alright let’s go around and say what we’re thankful for before dig in,” Bobby said, “I’ll start. I’m thankful for not only having such a kind and dedicated crew, but for having found such a perfect family. I’m thankful as well for Athena welcoming me into her life and giving me new direction to my own,” he said, looking at his wife with a loving smile.

As everyone else took turns saying what they were thankful for, Buck finally understood why people loved this holiday so much. He wished that as a kid he’d known that he’d end up in such a happy place and that Thanksgiving could be a good thing. Listening to each sentiment given by the people around him was heartwarming.

“I’m grateful to have such awesome dads!” Christophers voice suddenly said giddily from the other side of Eddie, “Everyone else at school only has one, but I have two and they’re jealous,” he continued proudly.

Buck suddenly felt like the entire table had their eyes on him and he sunk down slightly in his chair, afraid to look around. To his surprise Eddie didn’t miss a beat again this time either.

“I’m sure they are buddy,” his dad told him, ruffling his hair.

“I’m grateful for being blessed with such an amazing son and family. Thank you for welcoming us into your lives so much, we never expected this when we moved here,” Eddie continued.

Buck could feel Eddie look at him as he spoke, but couldn’t look up at him and make eye contact. A silence fell after his friend stopped speaking and he realizes that it was supposed to be his turn to share. He glanced to his right at Bobby who was giving him an encouraging look.

“I’m thankful for all of this awesome food that you guys prepared,” he finally managed to get out, desperate to say something so they could just eat.

After that, everyone began passing dishes around, hastily grabbing pieces of food and digging in. When he reached past Eddie for the potatoes he could feel him watching him still. Buck ignored it and began piling food onto his plate. They could talk about things later.

The food was just as delicious as he anticipated and he ate until he felt like he’d explode. So much food had been prepared that there would still be left overs which meant there’d be some at the station the next few days to enjoy again too. Chimney shared a story about how he’d almost burned his first apartment down trying to roast a turkey to impress an old girlfriend and Buck was able to forget everything nagging at the back of his mind.

As soon as everyone had finished eating and things had quieted down though he excused himself from the table and went outside to get some fresh air. The cool air felt nice against his skin and he looked up and closed his eyes. The inside of the house had begun to feel too stuffy, or maybe his shirt was just buttoned up too high.

He was enjoying himself but he also felt a bit of awkwardness that he couldn’t quite shake after what Chris had said. He didn’t have the heart to correct the boy, especially after he’d been so happy about what he said. To be honest Buck did practically think of Christopher as his son, he loved the boy to death. For some reason that part was what made what Chris had said more upsetting to him. Maybe if he just hadn’t said that to Buck privately and not in front of everyone he knew it would have been different.

“Are you okay, querido?” Eddies voice asked from behind him, sounding quite concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just trying to figure out how to correct Christopher. Maybe you should be the one to tell him?” he suggested, a surprised expression on his friends face when he turned.

“I didn’t think I needed to,” Eddie said quietly.

“But he thinks he has two dads…”

“Is there something wrong with that?” his friend asked, scowl forming.

“W-what? No I didn’t mean it like _ that, _I just meant cuz he thinks that we’re you know…together. And that’s messed up if we just let him think tha-”

Buck swallowed and stopped speaking when he saw the annoyance in Eddie’s eyes. The other man didn’t respond though, instead walking back inside and slamming the door behind him.

The blonde stood there stunned for a moment, trying to piece together what he’d said wrong before he hurried inside after him. It was too late though. Eddie was grabbing his jacket and Christopher, heading to the door to leave. Bobby was following him asking questions clearly confused, but Eddie just shook his head and left out the front door with his son. He blinked, realizing his partner had taken his jeep and just left him behind.

“I’ll give you a ride, Evan,” his sister said from behind him in a pitying tone he didn’t appreciate.

“Does this have to do with the jealousy thing again?” Chim asked, walking up behind his girlfriend and putting his arm around her.

“J-jealousy thing?” Buck asked.

“With Christine…” Chim continued, waiting for something to click that clearly wasn’t.

Buck balked at him, unable to believe what he was hearing, “Why would I be jealous?”

A silence filled the house again and Buck felt like screaming. Why was everyone else so invested in what was going on? This part of having a family wasn’t something he needed.

“Can you, uh, can you give me that ride now Mads?” he asked, suddenly desperate to leave.

His sister nodded, grabbing her coat and motioning for Chimney to follow. She and her boyfriend talked the whole ride back to his apartment as he sat in the back seat in silence, fiddling with his jacket sleeves. He was grateful that they didn’t try to force him to talk.

After they’d left and he was alone in his apartment he suddenly felt hyper aware of how empty it was. The contrast was so strong compared to Athena and Bobby’s house. He sighed, and pulled his shirt off, pausing when he smelled the cologne on it. He held it to his face and screwed his eyes shut enjoying the familiar scent. He sighed wistfully, wishing that he was holding the other man instead.

Wait.

_ Oh. _

_ OH. _

Buck dropped the shirt on the floor stunned at his realization. He had to fix this.

The fireman quickly scrambled to his closet and grabbed a t-shirt and hoodie, pulling them on as he ran out of his apartment. He had to talk to Eddie face to face. A text or phone call wouldn’t do in this situation. The blonde sprinted down to the parking space he kept his jeep in and swore.

Right. Eddie took his ride and now he had none.

He patted his pockets searching for his phone, realizing he’d left it in his jeep earlier. Buck looked down the dark street and sighed, already knowing what he was about to have to do.

\--------------------

Around an hour later Buck was knocking on the door of the Diaz residence, disappointed to see that the lights were all turned off inside. Christopher was probably asleep but that meant he could talk to his friend alone at least. He panted as he waited, leaning against the door frame trying to catch his breath. He probably should have brought a water bottle with him before running all the way over. 

After a whole minute the door finally opened, a tired looking Eddie seeming surprised to see him. He shut the door again before he could open his mouth, leaving Buck to stand alone in the dark. Well this had gone better in his head.

However, a second later it opened again and his car keys were shoved at him. He reluctantly took them and shoved his foot in the door before Eddie started shutting it again.

“Eddie please, I just wanna talk,” he begged.

“Just go home. You shouldn’t have made Maddie drive you here,” he said coolly.

“I didn’t, I ran.”

Eddie blinked at him surprised. He reluctantly opened the door wide enough to let him in and Buck gave a sigh of relief. He really hadn’t wanted to run back in the dark again.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out immediately, “I didn’t realize how you felt,” he continued sheepishly, rubbing his neck.

“How I felt?” Eddie asked incredulously, “You introduced me as your boyfriend, sorry I read into that incorrectly.”

“That just slipped out and I didn’t know why, and then I didn’t realize what we were doing or maybe I did and I was just afraid, I don’t know,” Buck rambled, ”I’ve never been in love before, I didn’t know how it was supposed to feel.”

“You’re in love with me?”

“...yeah, is that not okay?” Buck whispered.

Eddie’s expression softened and he stepped closer, reaching a hand out to cup the younger mans face. His thumb lightly stroked the skin in a way that made Bucks insides flutter.

“Of course it’s okay, querido. I just was beginning to think I was wrong…” he replied, leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to Bucks lips. 

The younger man melted, grabbing Eddie’s pajama shirt and pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. It felt so right, and Buck wasn’t sure how he hadn’t understood that this what had been missing between them the whole time. He made a small unhappy sound when Eddie finally pulled away.

“I love you too, Evan.”

“So does this mean you’ll actually be my boyfriend then?”

“I’m pretty sure I mostly already was, but yes,” Eddie laughed.

Buck grinned. He had a feeling Thanksgiving was going to be his favorite holiday from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Chimney just tried to be a good friend and go check Buck in the bathroom.
> 
> Querido = Dear
> 
> I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving before so if I’ve gotten anything wrong please let me know! Also not proof read so there may be typos.
> 
> Please leave kudos and/or comment if you like it! :D You can find me on Tumblr as Buckely118


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